The Risk
by Nine Tailed Vixen
Summary: A fainting spell is nothing to worry about. A stomach ache is just the flu. Waking up naked and covered in blood? Now that might take a little explaining. Shonenai NaruSai. Upped the rating.
1. Good morning

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any copyrights at all.

The Risk

By Nine Tailed Vixen

Naruto yawned as sun drenched his face from the crack in the curtain. Sleep bleary eyes searched out the clock. 6:30 am.

Naruto groaned as his muscles ached from training last night. Ever since Sai aided in his training his muscles had a perpetual ache. Naruto smiled. His life seemed better with the constant reminder of how hard he was working. This needed to happen. Every time his muscles ceased to ache he felt useless. Like he had gotten lazy ad didn't care anymore.

It was a tick. If he wasn't training then it would tickle him. It was an itch he couldn't scratch and it was always out of reach. It drove him nuts. If he was forced to sit down for long periods of time then he would start to twitch. People thought that he was just doing to be annoying and grab attention. Nobody knew of the conditioning that he had put on himself, albeit accidentally. Even when he was sleeping then he would toss and turn and kick and punch in his sleep. Woe to anyone who decided to share his bed.

A soft knocking at the window drew his attention. Pulling the curtains back Naruto was momentarily blinded by the sudden light illuminating the room. When his eyesight cleared Sai was already stepping into the room.

"How do you feel this morning?" Sai asked with his usual 'I know every thing' smile.

Naruto moaned, "It's too early for this. Lose the smile. You know I hate it."

Sai smiled wider this time. Time for him to work his magic. "Turn around and lay down."

Naruto sighed as he lay face down. He knew what was coming. It was a routine by now although he would never talk to Sai about it. It was times like these when nothing was said.

Sai straddled Naruto's back and began his work. His hands, hands which could easily kill, began to work at the numerous knots littering Naruto's body. Rubbing them out and attempting to release Naruto of the tension in his body.

It was a twisted sort of friendship that they had, Naruto thought, much different then…you know who.

A sudden slap on the shoulder made Naruto snap back to his senses. "You're tensing up idiot. This doesn't really work if you aren't even trying to relax." This was the most that was ever said on the subject.

Naruto growled at the name, "You know that you're supposed to give endearing nicknames to friends, not insulting ones."

Sai chuckled, "But it suits you so well. A name should be given in reflection to their personality." Sai knew better, however, Naruto was definitely not an idiot; hot-headed and quick to act before thinking, definitely. But still, ruffling Naruto's feathers was too much fun to pass up.

Naruto sighed in both exasperation and relaxation as the knots were worked from his body. He almost fell back asleep; Sai was really good at this. It really was a strange kind of friendship that they had. Naruto was by no means gay. Sai by every means was. That much he knew for sure. Naruto thought that it was probably mean to lead Sai on like this. I mean, his crush was so obvious, wasn't it? Naruto didn't want to tell Sai anything though for fear of losing another friend. And at this point though he wasn't really sure what he was. So maybe gayness could grow, couldn't it?

Gay, straight, bi what did it all mean anyway? He really didn't care anymore.

Sex was something that he did on his own in the shower or whatever, anyway. There was really no point in getting help with that sort of thing, was there? It was just something that needed to be done, like urinating or sneezing.

Sai got off Naruto's back and headed to the window, completely unaware of Naruto's sexually depressing thoughts. "I'm going to train today. Are you still trying to make that new jutsu?"

Naruto groaned as he realized that he really needed to get up now, "Yeah, I haven't quite perfected anything yet."

"Oh. Well if you get a chance I'll be in training block 17. Bye, idiot"

"See ya, shit face." Naruto shot to Sai's back. With that Naruto got up and headed to the shower. He didn't have a chance to bathe last night after training before he collapsed into bed, so now he was feeling really dirty and he knew that he smelled something fierce. Naruto grimaced. How did Sai put up with this? He could barely stand it and it was his own smell!

Naruto winced as the water hit his body. The hot water must be out again. Reaching for his soap he quickly washed his body before lathering up his hands and scrubbing his hair. He never bothered with shampoo. Why bother spending an extra three dollars when soap did the same thing. And don't even bother asking about conditioner or aftershave.

Naruto stepped out of the shower and grabbed a clean white towel. Furiously drying off his hair he dried his body off soon after. Wrapping the towel around his waist he stood in front of the mirror to shave. Normally he wouldn't have bothered but after training with ero-sennin he learned that he didn't grow enough hair to grow out into a beard. He just looked horribly ugly when he tried.

Naruto looked at the clock and swore. He threw his towel down and the razor in the sink and bolted from the room. He put on a t-shirt and some track pants before bolting out the door, racing to the grounds where Kakashi and Yamato were waiting for him.

He never even noticed the red smear on the towel.

To be continued…

A/N: I know that this was a relatively boring chapter but I kinda needed to set up a basis for my story.

Please let me know what you think. And just to let anyone know I may or may not make this shonen-ai. Please let me know where you think this story should go.


	2. Herbal Tea

Disclaimer: I don't own the copyrights to anything.

The Risk

By Nine Tailed Vixen

Chapter 2

Racing to the area where he was supposed to meet his two trainers Naruto was suddenly overcome by a strange sick feeling in the back of his throat. He stopped for a moment and rested on the branch of a tree, stomach was clenching in an unpleasant way. Looking around he realized that he was near Old Lady Kata's Orchard. She was this crazy old biddy who simply loved to grow endless amounts of fruits and vegetables. Once or twice a year she would hire ninja to help her harvest her crops. Not only did she pay for the labor but she also let the ninja take home as much as they could carry (needless to say team 10 was never hired after the first time).

Naruto thought that a little side trip wouldn't make him too late so he took a 90 degree turn and headed for Kata's Orchard. In his rush he had skipped breakfast and didn't remember eating supper last night either. He was probably just completely starving and his body was just trying to give his head a shake. He hopped the fence marking her property (it didn't keep thieves out; this is a ninja village after all). He made for the nearest apple tree when a rock was thrown at him. Unlucky for him she was sitting on her porch and saw him enter.

"Hey, you little monster, what do you think you're doing trespassing on my property?" She yelled at him from her seat. The way she said it made it less of an insult and more of an endearment, but she was one of the few.

Knowing that he was caught he turned towards her and started walking with a sheepish smile on his face. When he was about half-way there he stopped dead in his tracks and his face turned a disgusting shade of grey.

"Brat?" Kata stood from her seat.

Naruto fell to his knees with a series of dry heaves. Tears stung his eyes as his stomach contracted painfully, trying to vomit out something that wasn't there. Naruto's head swam. He closed his eyes in hopes that when he opened them he could see straight again.

When he opened his eyes Kata was looking at him from across the table. She got up and placed a cup of odd smelling tea in front of him along with some dry toast and homemade jam on the side. Just the thought of eating anything made him want to vomit all over again.

"Sip the tea and nibble on the bread. It might be hard but it will make you feel better, dear. You don't have to have any jam. Did you have breakfast yet today?" Kata asked him.

Naruto feebly shook his head as he scraped some crumbs off the toast with his teeth and swallowing a sip of the tea that tasted too herbal for it own good.

"Well that's the problem then!" Kata declared, "My daughter used to do the same thing, skipping breakfast an' all and oh how sick she would get near lunch!"

Naruto smiled. He rarely received such hospitality from the villagers and was grateful for it.

Kata dabbed a damp cloth on Naruto's face, wiping away the sweat. Naruto took another bite of the toast and found that he really was feeling back to his normal self again.

"Thanks, old lady." Naruto croaked out as he stood to leave. "I'm sorry that I caused you such trouble."

"No worries, child." Kata smiled as she walked him to the door, "Now don't you forget to eat breakfast…oh wait!" She turned back into her house returning later with a small bag.

"What's this?" Naruto asked as he took the bag as the old woman held it out to him.

"It's that special tea that I just gave you, perfect for breakfast!"

Naruto waved good-bye as he bolted top speed towards the place where he was supposed to meet Kakashi and captain Yamato. He was really late now!

By the time that he arrived the two of them we're looking none too pleased. "You're late." Captain Yamato stated as Naruto ran up to them, sweat dripping from his body.

"Ah, sorry, sorry, an old lady invited me to breakfast and wouldn't take no for an answer." Naruto explained.

Kakashi gave him a weird look before bursting out laughing. Realization dawned on Naruto too and he began to laugh.

Yamato looked between the two of them and wondered what the joke was.

0o0o0o0o

After training, Naruto had made a little progress with his new jutsu but it was still nothing remarkable. Naruto was practically shaking from the effort of molding his charka. He was running on empty.

"Are you going to be alright, Naruto?" Yamato asked his new student, concern etched in his features. Both he and Kakashi have been noticing something off in their protégé. He was beginning to strain his control on smaller amounts of charka. Sure he still had supernatural amounts of the energy but the amount that he was controlling was getting smaller.

Naruto looked at Yamato, "Yeah, of course I'm fine, why?"

"No reason." Kakashi answered, "But Yamato and I are taking a few days off." Yamato's eyes widened slightly but hid it, although Naruto caught the movement anyway. Kakashi continued, "He and I have something else we need to look into. Go home, Naruto. Have a meal and then go to bed."

"But—"Naruto tried to say.

"Go home." Kakashi said before disappearing in a puff of smoke with Yamato.

"'Go home' yeah right." Naruto jeered before running over to training block 17, hoping that Sai was still there.

Naruto sighed in disappointment. It looked like Sai had already left. Naruto looked at the length of the shadows. Of course he had left: the sun had just set.

Naruto was about to turn to go home when he found kunai at his throat. A familiar scent hit his nose and he knew who it was. "Nice try, Sai."

"If I was an enemy, you'd be dead, or worse." Sai said condescendingly.

"But you're not. So do you think that we'll work on tai-jutsu tonight? I don't think that my body is up for charka manipulation tonight."

"If you're like that then perhaps we should take it easy tonight, you know maybe we could just grab a bite to eat instead? My treat." Sai said. He had also noticed that Naruto was steadily getting weaker.

"No way! First Kakashi and Yamato, now you? I'm fine, why won't anybody believe me?" Naruto shouted. This was really getting annoying, he wasn't just some porcelain doll, and he was probably just getting influenza, nothing to worry about! Without warning he charged at Sai, kunai drawn.

In the blink of an eye he was face down in the dirt with Sai's weight holding him down. "If you were fine" Sai breathed into his ear, "then we wouldn't be in this position, would we?" Naruto gulped as he heard the smile in the other man's voice.

A sudden sniffing sound came to Naruto's attention. "Are you smelling me?" He really could not believe what Sai was doing. He was weird but Naruto didn't think that he was that weird.

Sai got off Naruto's back and helped him to his feet. "Come on." Sai insisted, "Let's go eat."

Naruto grumbled as he followed Sai. "You better damn well be paying"

Sai just chuckled and looked to the sky.

0o0o0o0

Naruto got home at a fairly decent time that night but yet he was still completely exhausted. He slowly stripped out of all his clothes and walked naked into the shower, not even bothering with any lights. When he reached his bathroom he almost screamed. Two red eyes were looking at him. Naruto immediately switched on the lights and saw to his amazement another face that was looking back at him.

He had seen his own reflection staring back at him. No red eyes…they were still as blue as ever. Naruto laughed at himself for his stupidity before stepping into the shower.

When he went to bed that night he noticed the moon was an odd shade of red that night and couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

Just as Naruto was about to go to sleep he caught sight of his glowing red-eyed reflection. It smiled at him. Naruto knew for certain that he was not smiling. Just as he was about to get up the reflection charged at him and his whole world went black.

To be continued…

0o0o0o0o0

A/N: I hope that this is at least getting a little interesting.

Please I would appreciate Reviews, even one-worders like "good" or "bad" would be great. That way I know that people are reading this.


	3. Confession

AN Well, sorry its been so long since I've updated but I figure if I'm going to do this then I'm going to do it right. Unlike most authors I only have a very general idea of where I want my stories to go and even that's prone to changing.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. (I'm not clever enough to come up with funny disclaimers like some authors do.)

The Risk

Chapter Three

Naruto woke to the sounds of voices buzzing all around him. He tried to tell them to shut up and let him sleep but he found that he couldn't get the words to form. He couldn't even open his eyes.

"…deadly…"

"…blood…"

"…seal…"

"…dangerous…"

"…die…"

The few words that Naruto was able to catch froze his blood. Was something wrong with his seal? Naruto began to struggle to open his eyes, to move his arms, to call for help, anything! His body wasn't listening.

_Calm down, boy, you'll only make a bad situation worse_.

A dark voice entered his mind, he recognized it immediately. _Damn you, fox! What did you do?_ Naruto yelled in his mind. He and the fox never talked though they did communicate. It was a sort of feeling, like when a person knows something is wrong; they feel it.

_It wasn't me, boy. Something is wrong with that damned seal._ _It bleeds into us_. _It poisons us_. _We are dying._ There was a sense of urgency and fear in the fox's voice. Naruto tried not to choke at the fox's words. He went cold as the fox's fear seeped in and became his own. They couldn't be dying. He felt just fine, really! No! No! No! This was wrong, just a cruel joke of the fox!

In his panic his eyes had snapped open and he began to struggle against the chains holding him down. They were choking him. They kept getting tighter. He couldn't breathe! He couldn't see! He had to get away, he needed help! Please someone help him! Suddenly the chains turned into arms. People were holding him down.

"Shhh…I'm here." A voice said into his ear. Naruto stopped struggling as he fought to catch the breath that he didn't realize that he'd lost. His eyes slowly focused on the people around him. Sai was at the head of the bed, pinning his shoulders. Yamato and Kakashi were holding his legs while Tsunade and Jiraya were looking at him closely with their hands on his seal. Concern was written on all their faces. Well all but Sai's and Kakashi's, both of which were carefully blank.

Tsunade looked at him. "Naruto, this is very important, what day is it?" Uh-Oh. Naruto knew that this was a loaded question. Whenever this was asked it meant that you were out for more then a day and you were expected to get the answer wrong. Well, might as well play the game, Naruto thought.

"Monday?" Naruto's throat was dry and his tongue was swollen. Sai released his arms and backed away.

"It's Tuesday. We couldn't wake you yesterday morning. When you were brought here you were suffering from massive charka depletion. Did you do any training after Kakashi and Yamato dismissed you?" Tsunade was curt as always. Naruto shook his head in denial. That was a bad idea as Naruto figured out when he felt his head start to jolt in a way that made him feel faint. Oh well, missing one day wasn't so bad. He could have been out for weeks! Naruto tensed his muscles under the hospital sheets. Good, they still ached slightly.

Sai returned with a glass of water for Naruto, for which Naruto was eternally grateful. He gulped the water down and handed it back to Sai who put it on the bedside table. There was something about the action that bugged Naruto. It was too normal. Too intimate.

Jiraya inspected his seal closely. "Now, lad, what is going on with your seal? I know you know that there's something wrong."

"I don't really know." Naruto lied. Deep in his gut he knew that he should keep what the fox said secret, simply because the fox said it. He knew that it would only be a bad reaction if he told them he was on speaking terms with the fox.

Jiraya knew that he was lying; he could smell it. Naruto always looked away when he was purposely lying. Dishonesty never fit him well. Naruto would apologize to his mark should he be sent on assignation missions. Jiraya wanted to call him on his lie but the boy was obviously exhausted and needed his rest. And Tsunade was beginning to look ready to kick them all out.

"Perhaps we should leave Naruto to rest for now." Sai suggested. Tsunade looked at him sharply. She almost resented him saying what she was about to say. This uppity Root-nin had no right to dictate what happened in her hospital, especially when it had to do with Naruto. She was supposed to be the mother hen!

"Right, everyone out." Tsunade said as she went to leave the room.

Kakashi said nothing as he and Yamato left the room. This was out of their hands and they knew it. Discussions would be held at a later date.

Jiraya looked at Sai as the man made no move to leave. Sai saw the hint but instead turned to look at Naruto. "Can I have a word with you for a moment, Naruto?"

Jiraya left the room but not before giving Sai an untrusting look. Sai ignored it as the door snapped shut. He instead turned his attention to Naruto who was still in a daze but his eyes were much clearer then when he had found Naruto.

"What's going on Naruto?" Sai asked softly.

"I didn't tell them, why would I tell you?" Naruto snapped. He knew that Sai would be the one to see through his lies, so there was no need to further the charade. He almost flinched as Sai's face became more distant.

"They didn't see what I saw. Don't you remember at all?"

"Will you stop beating around the goddamn bush? What are you talking about already?" Naruto was a little worried. Sai was worried and whenever Sai showed emotion Naruto got very uncomfortable.

"You were naked in front of the mirror, drawing a fox on the glass with blood from an unknown origin. Well, not completely unknown. Apparently the Naras found two stags, a doe, and a fawn mutilated by what looked like a wild animal. They were partially eaten."

Naruto felt his stomach lurch at that thought. "And what makes you think that has anything to do with me?"

Sai's eyes softened a touch as he reached to brush Naruto's hair from his eyes. Naruto carefully chose to ignore the action. Sai continued, "You had vomited up the raw meat all over yourself. You really scared me."

Naruto shook his head. Sai never felt anything so that he knew that this was a lie. Besides Naruto would have never attacked an animal like that. But why would Sai make something like this up? It wasn't exactly a penis envy joke or a bad nickname. "Why didn't you tell them all this? And why didn't they figure anything out?"

"I felt that it wasn't something that you wanted them to see, or know about." Sai leaned closer to Naruto, who was quickly becoming apprehensive of Sai.

"What makes you think that I thought you should know about it?" Naruto got a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach and he saw his worst fear happening like a train wreck.

"Well, I'm special." Sai said as a matter of fact. "We have a bond."

Whoa, back up! Naruto thought. This was definitely dangerous territory. "What bond?"

Sai looked at him confused, when Naruto said nothing he leaned in and kissed him. Naruto was careful not to have any reaction. Sai pulled back and looked at him even more confused. He went in to try again. Maybe he had caught Naruto by surprise and that was why Naruto didn't act. Well this time Naruto would react.

He did.

As Sai moved in Naruto raised his hand to block Sai's advance. Sai immediately backed off looking directly at him, quiet. Naruto took a deep breath. It was time to end this infatuation. He knew that it would hurt Sai more than anything Naruto could do.

"Listen, Sai, I think that you have the wrong idea of me. I'm not like that." Naruto said. To Naruto's infinite surprise Sai's cheeks became dusted with colour. Was Sai sick? He kept reacting to everything Naruto did and it was beginning to frighten him.

"Yes you are." Sai was acting like he was saying this to himself more then Naruto.

Naruto took Sai's hands in his own. "No, I'm not. Look I'm sorry if I gave you the wrong idea. But it didn't mean any—"

"But you let me touch you." Sai said in a hoarse whisper, "Don't say it didn't mean anything, don't you dare!"

"Sai—"

"No! Here you are all high and mighty acting like that. You practically forced your way into my heart and now that I accept that you say no? I was content to feel nothing and here you come forcing me to be human again" Sai looked like he was beginning to hyperventilate. Even Sai looked like he was beginning to get frightened.

"Sai I only wanted a friend!" Naruto pleaded with him.

"You used me. Don't go acting like you didn't know! I know that you knew. If you weren't interested then why didn't you tell me in the beginning? Why did you wait for me to humiliate myself?"

Naruto was speechless. Sai was really getting worked up. It wasn't that big of a deal. Before Naruto could say anything, however, Sai got up and went to leave the room.

Sai turned to look at him one last time before he walked out that door.

"Fuck you."

Naruto closed his eyes as the door shut with a snap. What was the big deal?

A/N: okay I know that Sai seemed a bit out of character but my train of thought here is that he's having an emotional overload. Forgive me for using the cliché dam of emotions breaking free. I don't know why but Sai seems like the type to lose it like, forgive me for saying, a girl. (Sorry, I haven't seen many guys act like this but I've seen plenty of girls do it.)


	4. Whispered Words

Disclaimer: Guess what I don't own...listens to audience's response...you got it! Naruto!

The Risk

Chapter 4

Naruto was discharged from the hospital the next day. He seemed fine but already he could feel something different within himself. It felt like he had swallowed a rock. He couldn't escape into his thoughts either because he couldn't get Sai's reaction out of his mind. Naruto was sure that he had been kind in turning Sai down. Apparently he didn't understand guys anymore then he understood girls. Great. His friends were dropping like flies. He really wasn't in the mood to go chasing after lost friendships right now.

"…demon."

Automatically Naruto looked up and around at whomever had said that. Speaking of it was still forbidden and it had been years since he had last heard it said aloud in public. Only when he looked around did he realize that he had a problem bigger then Sai. The crowd had parted like he was some sort of Moses; everybody was trying to get as far away from him as possible.

Naruto looked around himself, confused. He had never seen such fear and hate in the crowds, not even when he was a child. This was another problem that Naruto didn't have the heart to face right now.

Shaking his head, Naruto went into the nearest tea house to order a cup of tea and maybe some breakfast. He hadn't eaten anything from the hospital. Even free food had its limits so he decided to treat himself to someone else's cooking. He didn't have any food at home so he would probably do some shopping as well. When the server came to bring him his tea the poor girl was shaking so bad that she spilt the steaming liquid onto her hand. Naruto acted in the instant that she cried out, taking the cup from her hand and putting it on the table. The girl was in such a state of shock at his speed that she didn't even react when he led her to the light so that he could inspect her burn more closely. When she did regain her senses she began to cry and lash out savagely. Naruto released her in shock when he felt the sting of a slap on his cheek.

"What—" Naruto gasped in shock. He went to pull her from the floor from where she collapsed in her terror when her grandmother came to her rescue armed with a broom.

"Get away from her, demon. You fattened yourself enough on her parent's flesh. You'll not have hers to!" With that the old hag proceeded to beat him with the broom until he had left the shop.

Naruto's skin prickled with the feeling of all eyes on him but he was too shocked to move. Nobody had ever in his life been so aggressive to him like that. Ninjas doing their job were one thing but to be treated so cruelly by such a sweet looking old lady was completely different. They weren't even supposed to know about him.

"Mommy, what's a demon?" a soft voice asked from behind him. Naruto turned to look at a mother with her young son. As soon as his eyes fell on them, the mother turned her body to block the little boy from his view, as if she was protecting him. Naruto held his breath as he waited for her to answer.

"You must never go near that boy," the hairs on the back of Naruto's rose as he listened to her words, "and if you ever see him, run away as fast as you can."

Naruto couldn't believe what he had just heard. Nobody was allowed to talk like that, it was forbidden! Naruto thought desperately. His eyes turned to look at everyone who was looking at him. Eventually his eyes fell on a shop window where he saw his own reflection looking back at him with fear and pain reflected in his blue eyes. Naruto ran away as fast as he could.

Naruto was still visibly shaken as he reached his own apartment, he couldn't even get his key into the lock for a few minutes; his hand was shaking so badly. He finally made his way inside only to be back out within minutes in a change of clothes. His muscles had ceased to ache and so he sought a sense of normalcy in the pain.

Training block 17 was empty, as he expected it would be. With both Kakashi and Yamato gone away on whatever mission Tsunade had sent them on and Sai pissed at him, Naruto had to take charge of his own training. Sighing, he formed specific hand signals and in a poof of smoke he was facing an exact double of himself. Bowing to his opponent he took a fighting stance and charged.

0o0o0o0o

Sakura shifted her weight as she stood outside of Naruto's apartment. When she first heard the whispers she ran to the hospital only to find that Naruto had been discharged. She checked at the ramen stand that Naruto frequented and when she found no sign of him there she checked with Iruka (who was just exiting the academy), and Sai (was it just her or was he colder then usual?). Finally she made her way to his apartment; He had to return home eventually.

Sure enough, Naruto hobbled around the corner. Sakura took one look at him and ran to his side, immediately checking him for serious injuries. "Naruto, what happened?" she said worriedly as she ran her hand over at least two broken ribs, "Who attacked you?" Anybody who dared attack her teammate like this would be getting a taste of her left hook.

Naruto smirked through a wince as she touched his sore side, "No one attacked me, this is training."

Sakura would have let him taste her fist if he wasn't so injured, "You idiot! What kind of training leaves you in a state like this?" Sakura reached out her chakra in order to heal his ribs, sending it to the tips of her fingers.

"The good kind," Naruto responded as he reached out and grabbed Sakura's wrist. "Please don't heal them, Sakura; I want them to heal on their own." Anything to make the pain last as long as possible.

Sakura shook her head at what she thought was manly posturing. "Alright, but you'd better get some rest tonight, you look like something the cat dragged in after he urinated on it."

Naruto raised his eyebrows, "Gee Thanks." He allowed Sakura to support him on his way into his house. He turned to look at her. "I'd invite you in but I'm not well equipped to handle guests right now." His apartment was a mess and he still didn't get any groceries.

Sakura understood as she had just been coming to check on him anyway. With all the rumors flying around she had been worried for his safety. But then again, even if the fox truly was breaking free, nobody would dare attack him. She just hoped that Naruto hadn't gotten wind of the rumors; he'd be crushed to find his years of hard work of getting the village to accept him had been swept away in the blink of an eye and a whispered word.

As Naruto closed the door he fell against it. He knew exactly why Sakura had come. didn't she think that he could take care of himself? Naruto sighed as he stripped out of his clothing, walking nude through his apartment to the shower. Why bother with modesty, it wasn't like there was anybody to peek in on him anyway.

After his shower he dried himself of as best as he could with his hands. Sitting on his bed cross-legged Naruto settled down to meditate. He needed to talk to his tenant without any interruptions. Closing his eyes, Naruto completely shut himself from the world.

To be continued…

0o0o0o0o0

A/N: In case anybody didn't notice, Naruto's type of training is like self-mutilation. I see Naruto fan fiction where Naruto is a razor-cutter and I personally can never see him doing that.

Please give me input on my story. I'd really appreciate it.


	5. The Feral Night Out

A/N: Just a warning there is a scene of sexual deviancy that is kind of weird. I can't reveal too much or it would spoil the plot. It's not in too much detail but it still made even me cringe.

I'm sorry if it freaks anybody out.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

The Risk 

By Nine Tailed Vixen

_Well, boy, it took you long enough. I was getting tired of waiting._ The fox sneered from behind his cage door.

Naruto snarled in response. He really didn't want to deal with the arrogant fox right now but he needed the fox to explain what was going on. As much as Naruto hated to admit it, the fox knew more about his body then he did. "I don't want to put up with you right now, so just say what you want to say and let's be done with it."

The Kyuubi reared his head up in anger. _Such impudence! I am a great demon lord and deserve your respect! You'd have died long ago if not for me!_ _It was I who healed you!_ _It is my strength that feeds you! Do you have any idea what you'd be without me!_

"I'd be happy!" Naruto snapped, "I'd be loved! I wouldn't have to push myself so far if it wasn't for you! Stop acting like what you do is out of the goodness of your own heart! We both know that the only reason that you do what you do for me is because if you didn't then we'd **both** die!"

The Kyuubi rammed his body against the gate. _You little fool!_ _We_ **are** _dying! All because of that damn leader of yours! Even from beyond the grave he insists on making me suffer as well as you!_

"What are you talking about?" Naruto growled. He needed some answers and this was his best chance to get clear answers from the cunning fox.

_The seal is twisting. Your human energies are being cancelled out and my energies are replacing them._ The Kyuubi looked at Naruto with something akin to pity. Naruto's eyes widened in shock, the Kyuubi continued before Naruto could organize his thoughts in order to say anything. _There's nothing I can do to stop it; believe me I have tried. I've had hundreds of years to master my instincts, but they are completely overwhelming you. If something is not done then you will become the monster your people think you are and then you will die._

Naruto choked out his next words, "What can be done?"

The Kyuubi looked at him with an uncharacteristic serious look. _The seal must be removed._

Naruto immediately snapped out of his shock. A sneer made it way to his face. "I get it; you're doing this on purpose! You can't stand being in me anymore so you're going to try to force me to release you! Well, here's a newsflash: it ain't happening! You're stuck with me so just get over it!"

The Kyuubi bared his teeth at the boy. _Silence!_ _If you do not heed me then you will become a worse monster then I! You will be out of control and the consequences will be disastrous!_

"Shut up! I may be an idiot but I'm not a fool! I will not put everybody in danger just because you need a little leg space! No!"

_You will kill all you hold dear and then you will die and me along with you!_ The Kyuubi roared. _You have my word on that! If you do not heed me you will become a scourge upon the world like nothing that has ever been seen! You must break the seal: it is the only way!_

"No!" Naruto yelled! "I will never give in to you!" Naruto's anger died off as a strange and arousing heat engulfed his body. It was both painful and pleasurable and it was engulfing his entire body. Naruto gritted his teeth in agony, accidentally cutting his lip with his growing canines.

_Then you are already lost_, came the Kyuubi's sad reply as he was suddenly cut off from Naruto.

0o0o0o0

The night air was so sweet and he could taste the dew on his tongue. The creature tried to run at full speed but this strange skin kept hindering him. Furiously he ripped the skin off of him. Why bother wearing it, it served no protection. Dashing through the forest nude was sheer pleasure. He barked his happiness to the world, not even caring if those damn humans heard him. This was his night, his pleasure.

A new scent reached his feral brain. Hunger took over his body. He had not eaten good food in too long. He stopped, crouching low in the grass, hoping that his human stink didn't scare the prey away.

There!

A doe rabbit nosed its way from under the brush. It caught no scent of him. Instead it paused to graze at the sweet grasses. He sniffed the air. Milk, the rabbit was lactating. Upon closer inspection the doe was not with young. Good, she had already had her litter.

The rabbit nosed her way close to the brush he was hiding in. It was over within moments. The rabbit carcass was ripped to bite-sized pieces even as it still struggled for life. When it was ingested, he sniffed around the brush where he saw the rabbit exit. Sure enough there was her litter, too young for even their eyes to be open. A rustling in the brush caught his attention. He growled, sending a silent message to whatever predator dared venture near. _Mine!_ He snarled.

A vixen appeared, coming directly towards him. _Yours._ She said in response. He took a whiff of the air. She was in heat. After a long time of searching, she had found the perfect sire for her kits. She growled wantonly at his strength. He may look different but he was definitely one of them. She practically panted at him; he may even be a god! Oh, how lucky she would be to bear his kits. How strong they'd be!

He bared his teeth in interest. Reaching into the den he pulled out three rabbit kits and tossed one to her. She leapt on it with earnest. Her heat had made her hunger for the nourishment needed to feed her not-yet-created kits.

Smirking he ate his own two morsels. His arousal was visible to the vixen. Despite the size difference between the two, they both knew that the kits that resulted from this match would be as perfect as if they had been sculpted by the Great Hand. Young were the only thing truly valued in this world and there was no more potent aphrodisiac.

The vixen tuned around and presented.

0o0o0o0o0

Sai was in shock and even though he didn't look at the other's he knew that they were too. Of everything he had seen in his life as a top ninja, of all the colorful crimes he had been both privy and witness to, this was one of the strangest crimes against nature he had ever seen. What could have brought his life to this point where he would see the object of his desire so disgraced?

It had first started when Kata had run into the mission room in a panic. She had demanded to see the Hokage and no other. She was ushered in immediately to see Tsunade who had been, at the time, doing research on seal with Jiraya. Kata saw who he was and as soon as the door was shut she gasped out that she saw Naruto streaking through her orchard. At first she had though him drunk or under the influence of some strange drug.

But then she saw his eyes. They were glowing red in the dark and she could see the demonic light coming from them even from her window. Naruto had apparently stopped to sniff at the trees before bolting into the forest on all fours.

Tsunade acted immediately in summoning Sai, Sakura, Kakashi, and Yamato to track down Naruto before the villagers got wind of what old Kata saw. There was no risk for the old woman gossiping but there was no such guarantee from any unlucky hunter or traveler who might happen to come across Naruto. Jiraya took off for the forest as soon as Kata finished her report and the others were briefly apprised of the situation before being sent out as well. If the Kyuubi was awakening then there was no telling how dangerous this could be. Tsunade would have gone herself but anything that would receive her personal attention would draw too much attention.

So here Sai was, watching Naruto mate with a fox. Kakashi let out a small inhale and Sakura had to stifle a gasp. Naruto's senses were as good as ever. He rose up onto his knees and looked in their direction, teeth bared in a snarl. Sai saw the problem: Naruto's seal was practically gushing blood. So much so, it was dripping onto the vixen's back in a sickening stream. Jiraya snapped them all out of their stupor when he burst into the area, startling both Naruto and the fox, the latter of which took off into the brush while the former rose to his feet. Jiraya cuffed Naruto in the head and knocked him to the ground.

Yamato leapt into action immediately and subdued Naruto while Sakura did everything in her power to stop the bleeding. Kakashi took off into the brush and, with the help of the ninken, searched for evidence of any witnesses to Naruto's condition. Sai just stood there, admiring Naruto despite the seriousness of the situation. The way the blond creature's muscles flexed and stretched in the moonlight were breathtaking, despite the carnage. The Kyuubi-Naruto met his eyes and immediately he felt the effects of the lustful, predatory glare.

"Sai!" Sakura snapped as she struggled to hold Naruto down long enough to place a sleep jutsu upon him. As things were now if she, Yamato, or even Jiraya removed one hand from him, he would most definitely break away. Sai sauntered over to the struggling quartet as if Naruto went berserk everyday. He got down onto his knees and put Naruto in a submission hold while Sakura removed her hands and immediately Naruto fell limp in his and Yamato's arms. Just that brief contact with Naruto was enough to sate his need for the other man, for now but Sai knew that the hunger would return full force later.

As Jiraya picked the young man up and threw him over his shoulder, Sai looked in the direction that the vixen had run, wondering what it must have been like to be her.

To be continued…

0o0o0o0o

A/N: Umm…okay this is getting weird. Seriously my hands typed this by themselves and I could do nothing to stop it sorry. Let's hope that they never do this again (They probably won't, oh god I hope they won't.)


	6. Animal Lover

AN: I'm so sorry that this took so long to create! To be honest I kinda lost my motivation and then I woke up one morning and was like: I'm going to finish this dammit!

In case some of you didn't notice I upped the rating. I wasn't sure if it was necessary but I decided its better to be safe then sorry. I don't want to lose my fanfiction account again.

Thanks to all who took the time to review!

The Risk

Chapter 6

Naruto groaned as the sun glared him into consciousness. He really needed to stop waking up like this. Conversations with Kyuubi always put a strain on him but now…well all he wanted to do was roll over and go back to sleep.

Except that he couldn't move. Naruto tried again. Snapping to perfect awareness he realized that this wasn't his bedroom mattress, or even the hospital mattress. And that wasn't the sun. It was a lamp hanging over him. Naruto struggled in his binds; he couldn't even move his head to see what exactly was binding him. Even his fingers were bound so he couldn't even jutsu himself out of the situation. Naruto's nudity in this strange place only increased his vulnerability. At least the room was being kept warm.

Naruto took a deep breath and did what he only did in desperate situation…he felt for Kyuubi, trying to draw out its power to help him; except it wasn't there. Well it was there Naruto knew, but he couldn't feel him as he should have. It was like the fox was trapped in his mind's peripheral vision, always in the corner of his eye.

Naruto heard the sound of footfalls coming from the hallway. Over the years his hearing had sharpened and he learned how to identify people by how they sounded when they walked. It wasn't exactly Gai's ability to judge movement from the feet but damned if his skill wasn't useful to him now. It was Tsunade, Jiraya, and what could be…Sasuke? No, it must be Sai; the footsteps were not quiet but soft instead, like he was permanently walking by a sleeping baby's room. That calmed Naruto down a bit but he knew that he was not out of trouble yet. Something had happened to cause him to be bound and it couldn't have been good.

Naruto racked his brain trying to remember anything that would have caused something like this to happen but to no avail. Finally one headache later Naruto stopped his pondering and rested quietly. Why hadn't anyone entered the room to give him a briefing? Naruto tried to call out to them only to find that his vocal cords had been sealed as well. He felt tears burn his eyes in frustration. Just how long was he going to be kept like this?

Finally, after an eternity, a door to the room slid open and three pairs of footsteps entered the room. It was definitely the three from earlier but for some reason they hovered just out of sight. The seal on his vocal cords loosed and he was able to manage a coarse whisper.

Instead of asking 'What happened?' like most people would in this situation, Naruto whispered, "What did I do?" Naruto knew these three wouldn't do this to him without good reason, he trusted them. Naruto's muscles were cramping up badly so he knew that he must've been laying there for quite a while.

"You don't remember?" came the strong confident voice of Tsunade. There was no kind or joking tone in her voice, nothing to comfort him with.

"If I knew I wouldn't have asked!" Naruto whispered harshly. In frustration he added "Why is my voice sealed?"

This time it was Jiraya who answered him. "We couldn't have you scream and alert people to your presence. That would have been truly problematic."

So this was Jiraya's business voice, Naruto thought sardonically, his sense of dread magnifying greatly.

"You truly do not remember anything?" Tsunade asked stepping into his line of sight. Her face was drawn and she looked a lot older then she should have. Naruto realized that she was no longer holding the youthful illusion. Naruto didn't understand why she didn't keep it down. Even aged, she was still one of the best looking women in the world and when all this hell blows over he had to be sure to tell her that, if it did blow over.

"No." Naruto asserted. It felt strange to have such a whisper escape his mouth when he felt nothing on his throat. It was like waking up one morning and having the voice of someone you have never met nor heard from before.

"I'm afraid that we're going to have to leave you here for now until we get to the bottom of this." Jiraya informed him in his oh-so-serious voice. Naruto would have snorted if the situation hadn't been so dire.

Naruto was about to say 'Bottom of what?' when his voice was sealed again, leaving him completely mute again.

"I'm sorry Naruto but we have to make sure that no one finds you here, you'd be helpless." Tsunade's voice took on a softer quality but it seemed to be more out of fatigue than concern. Without another word the three people left.

_Do you believe him?_ Naruto heard whispered as they reached the end of the hallway.

_I know that he's hiding something. But I truly don't think he remembers…_

_Sai, I want you to…_

The voices trailed off and Naruto shut himself off from everything except his thoughts. He was now feeling emotionally exhausted and he still didn't know what the hell was going on except that it probably had everything to do with the Kyuubi. Naruto tried to reach out to the demon but once again his tenant evaded him. Naruto closed his eyes. In a situation like this there was only one thing to do. He closed his eyes and went to sleep.

A tension in his thighs woke him up. Naruto snapped to attention as he felt something nosing around his genitals. A long tongue, too long for a human mouth, lapped at his mature arousal. Naruto tried to shout to, throw his assailant off, to do something to get this _thing_ away from him but he was rendered completely immobile. He couldn't even curl his toes. Naruto closed his eyes hoping to will away the physical pleasure. This was very wrong. A soft feeling of fur brushed his legs. _Oh God No_, Naruto thought desperately. He couldn't climax, not with an animal! Tears stung his eyes at the humiliation of it all. Suddenly he saw himself mounting a fox in the forest. The tension in his legs suddenly made its way to his testicles pulling them closer to his body as Naruto squeezed his eyes shut and he released his seed.

Another presence loomed above him and Naruto dreaded to open his eyes, even though he knew he must. Sai's dark stone-cold gaze looked back at him. Naruto's eyes burned in humiliation. Silent sobs racked his body but for some reason his pain only increased when he realized that he still couldn't make a sound.

0o0o

Sai said nothing as he pulled out a spare bandage from his pouch and used it to clean Naruto up. He didn't know what happened. He was standing guard just inside the doorway as he was ordered to do when he saw Naruto becoming aroused. He has watched in fascination as Naruto's sex organ slowly raised itself in a salute to the ceiling. What kind of dream was the other man having? Sai found that his eyes couldn't be torn away as Naruto's muscles began to tense and release over and over again. Sai found that the same heat that was obviously rampaging Naruto's body was pooling in his own groin.

The show ended, however when Naruto reached orgasm without the aid of touch. That in itself was the source of major arousal in Sai. But almost immediately afterward Sai noticed that Naruto didn't enjoy that as much as he thought. For some reason or another he knew that he saw something that he shouldn't have, something that would cause Naruto great pain if he knew that he was witnessed. Despite Naruto's feelings or perhaps because of them Sai walked over to Naruto and made his presence known. The second Naruto opened his eyes Sai regretted his decision. There was no helping it as Sai decided to clean Naruto up. Better he saw this then someone else Sai rationalized. Naruto all but sobbed as Sai cleaned the semen from Naruto's flaccid penis.

Putting the soiled bandage back into his pocket for proper disposal later, Sai sat next to Naruto's head, stroking his hair until the silenced sobs stopped. Naruto shouldn't be broken like he was. Sai's heart ached for his miserable friend. After the revelation of Naruto's cunning in the hospital room where Sai had so thoroughly humiliated himself, Sai had simply threw those emotions out like yesterday's trash. Now seeing the one he so desired so…so _wronged_ made these emotions decide to recycle themselves, back into his body, heart, mind, and soul.

Naruto's sobs stopped and he simply opened his eyes and looked directly at Sai, both grateful and miserable at the same time. Sai simply stared back wondering how in the world Naruto could deny that they had a bond. Without a word Sai put Naruto into a deep dreamless sleep that would hopefully occupy Naruto for the rest of his imprisonment here. He hoped that whatever was going on with Naruto would right itself soon so he could invite Naruto out for another date, a nice walk sounded perfect this time of year.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

AN: Yeah…so now you all see why I think that it's a good idea to up the rating.

Please if you read this story it would mean so much to me if you reviewed. I'm going to start answering the reviews because if you take the time to write them then I could at least return the favor and reply.


	7. Love Requited

Disclaimer (1)see below

The Risk

by Nine Tailed Vixen

Naruto was going out of his mind. Two weeks he had been trapped in this room. He was beginning to break down on a daily basis. Two weeks without free movement let alone any training. His muscles were having spasms, twitching without his control. Tsunade tried to move his body for him in a series of stretches at first to keep him fit as well as sane but when that failed to alleviate the problem she ended up using an additional jutsu just to keep him sedated. If he couldn't move then he damn well was going to sleep.

The dreams with the fox had disappeared but their memory had left Naruto in a constant state of distress. He knew deep in his heart that the dreams were not only pieces of his fragmented psyche but they were also drawn from part of his memory. Freud would have had a field day with him. Naruto thought a lot lately; too much. He couldn't help but feel that something big was brewing on the horizon and that it had something to do with him.

Time was flowing in an unsteady pace now, Day and Night no longer mattered. There was no visible clock in the room and no sound that one was nearby. Without time or movement Naruto was beginning to lose himself in this room. He became one with the shadow and artificial light. It could follow his command and do anything he wanted it to. It had swallowed up the fox that kept coming to visit him and soon it would swallow him as well.

"Talking to your self again, Naruto?" Sai spoke softly in the otherwise silent room, nonetheless it practically echoed. He knew how sensitive Naruto was now with his eyesight now rendered null and void. He saw how the other man winced whenever anything was dropped on the other side of the building. He recognized the eye movements that Naruto made whenever he mumbled to himself. Now that Naruto was unable to move even his lips all he did now was move his eyes in an erratic fashion. Naruto turned his eyes towards the sound of Sai's voice. Offhandedly Sai realized that Naruto probably couldn't see him from that angle.

Sai stepped forward watching as Naruto flinched from the sudden sounds of his shoes on the floor. The soft scraping of the rubber souls on the cement floor must have been like nails on a chalkboard to the hypersensitive teen. Sai said nothing as he stood over Naruto. The bound man's eyes didn't even see him anymore. It was like they had simply shut down. Naruto was now in a more primal state of mind. It was a good thing that all mammals at least had a sense of friend and foe so as long as Sai remained one of Naruto's friends then Naruto would not fear him.

Naruto opened his mouth to speak but all that came out was a chocking sound. Sai knelt by his first real friend after his brother. The poor man had lost his lustre. His eyes were dim, his skin was pallid and even his hair no longer seemed to be as bright as it was supposed to be. Without even thinking Sai reached out and stroked Naruto's torso, feeling out the other man's ribs which were protruding because of the spread-eagle position that he was kept in.

Naruto flinched at the gentle touch on his torso he so badly wanted to squirm away but he could not. He could feel the laughter bubbling in his gut but it found no expression as he felt the muting seal burn on his throat.

Sai saw the quivering of Naruto's belly and found it odd. He had seen children touching each other like this in the parks and they liked it. He had never been touched this way before but the smiles on their faces stood out so maybe it would make Naruto feel better.

Naruto's face turned into a grimace. This was torture worse then the darkness. Oh how he so desperately wanted to get away from those gentle fingers currently playing with his ribcage. Tears formed in his clenched eyes. He really prayed that Sai would stop his sick little game lest he embarrass him self with the clenching of his abdominal muscles and partially full bladder. The tickling stopped as a hand made its way to Naruto's cheek. Blue eyes opened to see the neutral face of Sai studying him. If Naruto could have moved he would have struck the other man. Did he seriously not know the pain of tickling? Naruto gave Sai a warning glare not to try that again. To his shock Sai smiled.

"There you are, I was wondering where you had gone." Sai whispered.

Naruto's eye twitched in confusion.

"You looked like a corpse just laying there. I wanted to see if you were still alive." Sai looked at Naruto as he continued. "I really don't want you to be in here. Whatever is wrong with you can't be fixed like this." Sai's had stroked through Naruto's hair. "I was so…angry, I guess is the word, with you that night but I can bear no grudge against you for it. I thought about it and I'll be content if you see me as a friend if nothing else."

Naruto smiled at Sai, grateful.

"But as a man in love I will not see you rot away in here." Naruto's eyes widened as Sai did the counter measures to remove each and every seal on Naruto.

Naruto could not stop the sound of relief that exited his mouth. He could have kissed Sai in gratitude but at this moment he needed answers. Before he could so much as move his tongue to form words, Sai raised his hand to keep the silence. Walking over to the door he opened it and looked around. The halls were empty, good.

Naruto looked at Sai. The other was literally risking his life, betraying the Hokage for him. Betraying the Hokage was betraying the village and that was punishable by death. Sai had only just discovered what life was and now he had just thrown it away. While it was not too late to have Sai simply put the restraints back on he simply could not bring himself to allow the loss of movement again.

_You got that right, boy._ The lost voice of the fox flooded his mind along with his hot presence. Like a flame he warmed Naruto's body. Suddenly Naruto knew what he had to do. Turning he saw Sai looking at him. The fool was willing to go with him! To give up everything and go with him after only finding what it means to be human. Naruto couldn't leave him here like this.

Stepping forward Naruto opened his arms to Sai. The other hesitated, looking ready to back away if this turned out to be a cruel joke. There was no joke to be had. Sai being his only companion during his imprisonment he was also the one to help Naruto escape. But now Naruto needed to hold someone and be held if even for a moment.

Sai saw this and thanked the sky for the cruelty of fate and his luck. Just once. Only once. Naruto would hold him. Maybe he could sneak a kiss? Just one? He stepped forward and into Naruto's arms and breathed in his scent. Oh man, the warmth! The shear pleasure that coursed through Sai's body at the contact with Naruto's nude body was more then anything he could have imagined. Caught in the moment Sai pulled back and looked into Naruto's eyes.

Naruto saw what he wanted, and he couldn't bring himself to deny Sai this time. Slowly; so slowly their lips met and Naruto at once knew what he had lost out on by denying Sai. Regret bubbled forth into his heart as he realized this beautiful could have been had sooner and he could have had many more moments like this with Sai. Now their time together could never be enough.

Sai was in a state of absolute bliss. Never had he felt so strongly. He thought his ribs might crack with the euphoria. A strike to the stomach had him out before the realization hit him.

0o0o0o0o

Sai came to with a silent groan. His entire body ached all over.

Tsunade's face loomed above him.

"Naruto escaped."

0o0o0o0o

(1)see previous chapters. haha made you look, didn't I? No? Aww... well anyway I didn't buy Naruto between last chapter and this one. Ergo I still don't own it.

A/N: Sorry this took so long. Like I said before updates are probably going to be inconsistent. I'm horrible with responsibility.

Keep up with the reviews please! I love to hear from my readers!


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